TRURO - There's only one thing Cobequid Cougars boys basketball coach Marc Roberts is looking for from his players tonight.
Effort.
The Cougars play their first game since Dec. 19 tonight when they host the North Nova Gryphons at 6 p.m., a team they've split their previous two meetings with this season.
"These guys should be hungry," Roberts said.
"I want these guys to get after it. I know there's going to be some rust but we've got to have that effort."
It seems the players don't have any quams with their coach's request.
"It's a big game because we're coming back off the Christmas break and we want to start the second half strong," said Grade 11 guard Brandon MacKay.
The Cougars are owners of an 11-9 record. Although lots of teams would be happy with that, the Cougars are not and want to make sure they add plenty more wins to that total on the run to provincials March 4.
"We were 50/50 in the first half," MacKay said. "So we're really looking to improve that."
MacKay said that all starts with defence and good communication on the court.
"It all feeds off of that," he said.
Roberts agreed but added he's looking for a little improvement from his team on the defensive side of the ball. Roberts said he feels his team can better assist players who get cornered and rebound better.
"We're not a big team but we need to make sure we get the rebounds before our guys take off up the floor," he said.
But the Cougars' offensive production has also been decreasing since the start of the season, a trend Roberts would like to see reversed.
"We need more production out of our starters," he said.
"We are tight defensively but when we start facing the tougher teams in the province that can score we're going to need that offence."